More than half of the world’s population are not fully covered by essential health services,¹ and it can take 4-7 years longer for medicines to reach people in lower- income countries than in high-income countries.² The Accord is working to provide prevention and treatment options for people impacted by deadly infectious diseases, as well as certain cancers and rare and inflammatory diseases. It also includes a wide range of antibiotics, that can help to address the rising morbidity, mortality and costs associated with antimicrobial resistance, and help prevent deaths as a result of bacterial infections in hospitals and community health clinics.

Launched in May 2022, ‘An Accord for a Healthier World’ aims to provide our full portfolio of patented and off-patent medicines and vaccines, for which Pfizer holds global rights, on a not-for-profit basis to 1.2 billion people living in 45 lower-income countries around the world.³ As we launch new medicines and vaccines, those products will also be included in the Accord portfolio on a not-for-profit basis. 

Alongside governments and multi-sector leaders, the Accord will focus on co-creating solutions for faster, more efficient supply pathways for medicines and vaccines as well as strengthening the resources, capabilities, and platforms that can enable quick, yet sustainable access to them, including technical expertise, training, diagnostic capacity, innovative financing, and beyond.⁴

Progress and Milestones: 

• In September 2022, Rwanda became the first country to receive a delivery of Pfizer patent-protected medicines and vaccines through the Accord - these are now available in three national hospitals and include products to help treat or prevent life-threatening infectious and inflammatory diseases and certain cancers.^4,5 Together, the Rwandan Ministry of Health and Pfizer are working to provide professional healthcare education and training to support Rwandan medical specialists.⁵  
   

• Ghana, Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda followed Rwanda and principally agreed to join the Accord.⁴ Partners will work to identify opportunities to support improved diagnosis, healthcare professional education, and training, along with supply chain management and other infrastructure enhancements to ensure all medicines and vaccines can reach those in need. Health officials in these countries will help identify and resolve hurdles beyond supply to inform the roll out in all 45 low-income countries and help speed sustainable access.⁴ 
   

• In December 2023, Pfizer hosted a regulatory roundtable to bring together heads of regulatory agencies from 10 African countries. This helped to align needs and opportunities to advance regulatory capabilities and establish a strong pan-African regulatory framework.⁵

We recognise how important it is to work to advance medical education and to help support the sustainability of medicines access in these countries. Through medical training sessions and medical information websites, we are working with governments to help enhance the accessibility of information for healthcare professionals.⁵ These training sessions help to provide essential learning on antimicrobial stewardship, resistance and susceptibility testing as well as therapy area specific training.⁵ Furthermore, through our partnerships with governments, we are working hard to help expedite review timelines, to help decrease the time it takes for medicines to reach patients.⁵
 
No single government, organisation or company can close the health equity gap alone. To drive the success of the Accord, we are calling upon global health leaders, global health organisations, country governments, industry leaders, and peers to come together to provide expertise and resources that can help to close the health equity gap and create a healthier world – one where every person can access the innovative medicines and vaccines they need, regardless of where they live or how much they earn.